One Thousand Year Story
by King Hollow
Summary: This story is based off an origonal character I created, using the Bleach universe. It details the long history of the arrancar named Zero, and his struggle through Hueco Mundo as a hollow. This is his story.
1. Chapter 1

One thousand year story:

Chapter one

"Come on, dad, you promised!" the young boy urged.

The older man rolled his hazel eyes and groaned as the boy tugged at his shirt. He had promised his son he would take him to the river to fish with him, today. The boy was growing up, though he was still only twelve, and he needed to learn these things, he knew. But he was still hoping to stay around his mountain home and spend more time with his beautiful wife. His eyes flicked towards the woman by a large wooden basin, washing clothes. For a moment she looked up and smiled at him.

She was quite a stunning figure of a woman. She had soft delicate hands, fair smooth skin, a spotless pretty face, and beautiful black tresses reaching all the way down to her waist. She hadn't gained a single ounce from having their son, and looked just as fair and beautiful as those twelve years ago. She was the kind of woman that any man would kill to get close to. He was sure he didn't deserve her, and was doubly sure that he would die without her.

He finally pried his eyes away from her and looked at the sun creeping higher into the sky. He sighed and put his hands around the boy, turning towards the river just a little ways beyond the woods.

"Alright, son, we'll go," he said, walking towards the forest.

A beautiful wife, and a son so full of life an energy, all three of them living in a secluded mountain vale in Japan, in a place where no one would bother them. He truly felt that his life was complete. He looked forward to the next forty years just growing old.

That day he taught his boy how to fish. An event that gave him great joy. His son managed to hook a tree, a rock, his old man's shirt, and finally, a big one. He was as proud as a father could be, as his boy had brought back dinner for the first time. His wife was happy to share in that joy and listen to the entire events of the day. Then they snuggled up together in their quiet home and went to sleep.

The next morning, the man of the house went out into the forest alone. He could not take the boy with him where he was going this time. He had to go deep into the forest, closer to the base of the mountain. There was a particular kind of plant that grew in the shadow of this mountain. It made an excellent spice and they were starting to run short.

He had some reserves about leaving the two alone at home. He had heard from some passers bye on the road near the mountain that a group of bandits had made a base some distance beyond the other side of the road. No doubt they were there to attack the travelers. He could not be sure of the validity of this information, but it made him uneasy all the same. Who knew what a set of bandits would do to a pretty thing like his wife!

He set out at midday, planning to return some time in the afternoon. He walked out into the tranquil forest, and that allowed him to somewhat relax. This was a beautiful region. The thought of bandits defiling it filled him with a hint of anger. But he was an easygoing fellow, and only used the body he had sculpted through hard labor to defend himself and his family when needed. Fortunately, it had never been needed, though, and it seemed he had lost a little of his young body.

He was able to find the herb and retrieve it without incident. It took a bit of searching, as it did not grow like a weed on the mountainside. Something that tasty could hardly be common. He walked back through the forest, remembering the path he had taken, and made his way back to his home, and his waiting family.

But when he did get home, he met something he didn't quite expect. He walked into the small glade looking from left to right. It was quiet. Too quiet. He would have expected his wife and son to be outside on a beautiful day like this. Although when he looked up he couldn't help but notice a few looming clouds.

"Hello?" he called out to his family. He received no answer.

"Hello!?" he repeated, louder. Still there was no answer.

He walked around to the front of the house. He was a bit confused, now. His eyes met the ground outside the front of his house. It was scuffed in a way it should not be. His eyes widened in fear. What had happened here? He dashed up to his home and burst through the door. There was no one in the front room. Franticly he ran down the hallway to the left. He burst into another room, left dark out of the sun. Finally, his worst fears had been realized. At first he didn't move, his face becoming as pale and white as snow. He fell to his knees, staring at the image before him.

There, on the floor in front of him, were his wife and child. Buried in shadow, they lay lifeless on the floor. The boy lay on top of his mother, who was sprawled out on the floor. Their clothes were stained with their blood, as was the floor around them. The bandits. They had come. They had killed his wife and child! Shaky hands slowly moved slowly upwards. He grabbed a hold of his head, feeling desperately at the long black locks. His whole body began to tremble as tears welled up in his eyes. Finally he looked up and screamed at the mountain. He then broke down, slamming his fists into the floor as he began to cry. He sobbed, alone in the darkness before the image of his beloved family. Everything, _his_ everything… was gone.

When he finally recovered from his sobbing he was but a shadow of himself. All that he loved had gone up in ashes. He had no life left to live. He could not go on like this. He went into their bedroom and retrieved a katana. The houses only weapon. It was a gift to him, from his father, the survivor of a clan war that ravaged a place far away. It was more ornamental than anything, but now he would put it to use. He staggered back into the room where his family lay, drunk off his own sorrow. He placed their bloodied bodies beside each other and stepped back away. He looked at his own hands, now stained with their blood. He then reached for the sword on the floor not far away. He picked up the weapon and drew it, casting away the sheath.

"I will be with you soon, my love," he said to the air around him.

Little did he know that their souls were already gone. A shinigami had already come and taken their souls away to soul society. He pointed the blade towards his own heart. He closed his eyes, gripping tighter around the blade and guard. He plunged the sword into his own body, the blade passing through the heart. His body fell beside his wife and child, now as lifeless as they.

He woke up perhaps an hour later. His hazel eyes opened to see the floor, a wisp of his black hair obscuring the view slightly. He felt weak, in more than one way. In one, he had failed to protect his family. They had all lost their lives. The other, he couldn't move. Lying on the floor he closed his eyes again, hoping that it had all been a dream. That his son would run into the room with all that energy of his and jump on him to wake him up. That he would find his wife lying beside him, still asleep. He moved his eye to look and saw white. A body? It was wearing a white shirt, had black hair… it was his body! He closed his eyes again. He really did it. He was dead, and now he saw his own body before him. He finally found the strength within him to move. He pushed himself up and looked over his body. His eyes traveled and they found the bodies of his wife and child there. He sat and put his hands over his eyes, almost beginning to cry again.

Later he moved back, and realized there was something attached to his chest. He looked down at the chain link, not understanding what it was. He wrapped his hand around the chain and followed it with his eyes. It didn't seem to lead anywhere. It appeared to be wrapped around his house and attached to his chest through a diamond shaped plate of some kind. He wouldn't pretend to understand.

Eventually, some people did come to their home. It was some friends from a village not so far away. He would some times visit them, when he came around. It had been about two months since it happened, now. He had, of course, failed to go and see them. After realizing he could not leave his home, he realized that they probably couldn't see him anyways. And they couldn't. They took their bodies and buried them outside of his home. His chain seemed to wrap around those graves as well. He realized it must be tied to things he was attached to in life, or reasons he was dead, or locations and things, or something like that. But what did it matter now.

At first he was calm. But over time he became increasingly distraught. Was he to remain here for the rest of eternity? Where had his family gone? If only they were there as well. Why couldn't he see them? Did they pass on to the after life so long ago? Then why… Why couldn't he pass on with them? He tried many times, to leave this earthly existence. But something was missing. There was something still preventing him from leaving this earthly plain. It took him some time, but he realized what it was.

Vengeance. He didn't need to guess to know who was responsible for this. Those bandits must have crossed the road and inspected the other side. They found their home, and saw his wife and- he didn't even want to think about what happened then. He wanted them to pay for what they had done. It had started out as not even a thought in the back of his mind. But then it was born, and it welled up and grew until it was the absolute truth. They _must pay. _

Five months had passed, and he was no longer content. He stood up from the floor where he was sitting and gripped tightly around the chain attached to his chest. He didn't know how much he could do. He just knew that he couldn't just sit around here while another innocent person might lose their life. He looked down at his own chest and realized it had opened somewhat. All that was there was empty blackness. That made him hesitate. But in a moment he regained his vigor and he pulled at the chain. He felt a wrenching in his chest. The first bit of pain that he had felt since he died. But he wasn't about to be discouraged. He yanked again, harder, and felt the same wrench, doubled. This caused him to bend over slightly, a bead of sweat running down his face. Could the dead sweat too? He shook his head at these thoughts and then pulled with all his might. He fell to his knees in pain, leaning his body backwards against the pulling of the chain. Slowly, the hole began to widen. He gave one last yank, and the whole thing flew off. He shouted into the darkness of the room, as loud as he could. As if anyone could hear him. He then fell forwards, his hands hitting the floor in front of him. He couldn't breathe, he found. His eyes were wide as whole new emotions flooded into his mind. He gritted his teeth, shaking with the torrent flowing into his mind. Then his soul shattered.

A piercing scream filled the night. A hollows roar that would even chill the bones of the living if they heard it or not. He had appeared on the roof, large and bestial. He had a white mask, and a large black and red body. He had become a hollow, a true monster. His mind was clouded with the new thoughts. Merciless desire filled his heart. A crushing hunger filled his broken soul. Tonight. He would feast.

He wasted no time. In this new form, invisible to the human eye, he covered much ground. He found the dim lights of the bandits' camp, still stationed in this part of the country, even after all this time. He hadn't known before now, but the thoughts of vengeance guided his senses until he did. He descended upon the camp with due haste. He ripped open the first tent and looked down on the person inside. He stirred from the cold, but only awoke as the hollow plucked his form the bed. At first he was confused, and as he began to crush him in his fist he began to struggle and shout. Torches were lit from the fires still burning and others came to stare at the man. They thought he was a man possessed, and backed away as if scared.

The hollow's fingers then passed through the man's flesh and with a motion of his hand he threw the body aside. The empty corpse slid along the ground until it stopped among the confused others. The struggling soul looked down at his body, now scared for his life and then looks back towards the hollow to be filled with true terror. He could see him now. The white mask with its maw open wide. He screamed but was then silenced as he disappeared into the hollows mouth. One down.

The others had gathered around the soulless body, and more had come out of their tents. They couldn't understand what was happening. And it didn't matter if they did or not. The hollow brought a fist down on a few of the bandits at once, crushing them. He swept his arm through several more, sending them flying. They tried to run, but the hollow pounced on them and crushed them as well. Screams of terror erupted from the camp, falling only on the indifferent ears of the woods. In a matter of hours, long before dawn awoke, the entire camp was wiped out. No survivors.

At daybreak, the hollow awoke in the center of the camp. It looked around with black and yellow eyes at the destruction it had caused. It didn't even remember it, though. He had lost himself in his fury, and had lost his mind, all in the course of a night. But now it was coming back to him. His drunken fury had lifted and now he could see. He lifted his hands and looked at them. These were his hands now. He knew it. Somewhere buried inside this shell was his body, his soul, but this is what he had become. And oddly… he didn't feel a drop of remorse.

"Who are you, hollow?" a female voice asked, "what is your name?"

He looked up to where the voice had come from. It was another hollow. Like him, but more slender. It had a darker red colour in its skin, and on it's shoulders, back, and legs it appeared to have white armor of some kind. He looked away, at the ground. He thought for a moment, but he couldn't seem to remember. It appeared that his name was one of the things he lost. He looked back at the other hollow.

"I don't remember," he replied.

"Oohh," she said in an almost sing song way, "I see. I like what you did to this camp, here. I think I'll call you Zero! As in Zero survivors!"

He thought for a moment, looking down again. This woman was strange. If she could really be called a woman! The voice suggested a female, anyways. And so did an odd set of bumps on her chest. They were actually more shapely and voluminous than the word 'bumps' would suggest. He decided that a name was a name.

"Call me what you wish," he said, turning to leave.

"I think this one's going to be fun," she said to herself.

But it did not escape Zero's ears. He wondered what kind of "fun" she was talking about. All he had to worry about now was how to deal with the rest of eternity as a monster.


	2. Chapter 2

One thousand year story:

One thousand year story:

Chapter two

The hollow now called Zero picked a random direction and started walking through the forest at an even pace, his footsteps heavy and giving a loud crash with each step. He headed away from the now empty bandit camp, wanting to get as far away from his sins as possible. He could no longer member why he consumed them. Only that he was very angry. Only the morning after had he regained any sense of himself. He knew he couldn't justify killing them. But oddly, he didn't feel any remorse. Shouldn't he have felt something?

It was around noon now. Zero had realized that there was someone was following him. He didn't need to guess. It was that other creature from before. She was the one who apparently witnessed his rampage before. She obviously wasn't making any attempts to hide herself. He didn't even have to look back to know she was there.

"Why are you following me?" he asked. His tone was dull and dark, cracked with something unnatural.

"Hm? Why else? Because you're interesting," she replied. Her tone was lighter, but still cracked with that unnatural sound.

He decided not to ask any further questions until he found a spot to rest a bit. They soon came upon a lake. The water was clear and sparkling in the sun. He came up to the water and stopped, looking down into it. He turned his head to one side, then the other. What met his eyes was not pretty. There was a white mask with a plastered grin covering his face. It had six triangular protrusions leading beyond his head, creating spikes. The rest of his body wasn't much to note. He had a hulking figure that was not quite muscular. It was certainly not human, but humanoid. Five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. Both were too large to be human. His body had darkened in color since the night before, it seemed. It was almost all black except for a pair of red lines running down each arm to wrists, where they circled and met on the bottom side. He turned to face the woman, who stopped similarly, away from the water.

"If you so insist on following me, then you can at least answer some questions," he said.

"If you say so," she replied, shrugging. She sat down on a large rock, making herself comfortable in what way she could. A long tail wrapped around the rock and came to rest on the ground. It was only now that Zero realized she had one.

He decided to take full note of her features now. Her body was smaller than his, sinuous in form. She was slender, but looked strong, with a set of powerful looking legs. The white armor was smooth, and it seemed to meld into her form as if it was just an off color part of her body. It covered much of her shoulders, and two thick lines of armor ran parallel down her back in an upside down teardrop shape. The tail was the same color as her body, and the end was tipped with a white claw. And then, of course, the white mask. It covered much of her head, and looked as feminine as her body. It had smooth curves, a plastered wide grin, and at the back of the head it split into seven thick, stiff wires that led down her neck. Most notable, however, was a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. Such a thing could not be natural. His note complete, he asked his question.

"Who and what are you?" he asked.

"Straight to the point I see," she said, almost seeming to smile, "I'm just like you. A hollow, they call us. Myself in particular they have named 'Red Banshee'. Just the same, I don't remember having a name before, so call me Red."

"Alright, Red," he said, "but… who exactly are 'they'?"

"Shinigami, of course," she replied, pointing her finger in the air.

"Shinigami?" he asked.

"Oh, that's right. You haven't seen one yet, have you?" she said, "death gods, if they can be called that. Their job is to hunt down hollows like us and kill them. If you value your life, I suggest you avoid them, for now."

Zero couldn't say he quite followed, but he accepted that. It seemed that was the best explanation he would get for now. It still left him somewhere in the dark. He turned back to the water and looked into it. He dipped his hand into it. He could feel it cooling his hand. It didn't pass through. Was he a spirit or not? Those bandits… they couldn't see him, but he could still touch them, and hurt them. He could even rip their souls from the flesh. Tangibility seemed optional. He found he wasn't thirsty, and just let the water trickle back into the lake.

It was time they moved on. She suggested that they head to the next town over. Zero, as he was called now, was against the idea. But she assured him that only one in a million humans could actually see them, and she insisted that she needed to go there anyways. He didn't know what for, but he obliged. He remembered where it was, somehow. He had some of his memories left, it seemed. A lot of memories were still there. Though his name still escaped him. Just the same, he felt he probably wouldn't deserve it, now. It took them a few hours to arrive.

They stood upon a tall cliff overlooking the town. Zero's black and yellow eyes scanned the small place, looking down at the people bustling about. Towns around these parts never got very large. But this one was one of the larger ones. He felt a rumbling in his stomach. He suddenly felt… hungry. He didn't think he would be after all that "eating" he did the night prior. He looked up as he realized Red was getting ahead of him. She was descending into the village already. He followed, wondering what business she had. And what he could do to sate his hunger. He didn't really think about it, but on the inside, he knew. There was only one way.

They walked through the town, as suspected, unseen and unheard by the people. Their footsteps didn't seem to make a sound to them, yet they were loud and clear to him. Just how could they miss such heavy footfalls?

Then, Red signaled for him to stop. Had she found what she was looking for? Probably. She didn't say anything, yet. Just then, a pair of children ran out around the corner. They were laughing, and having fun, it seemed. None of the humans seemed to notice them as they ran out into the dirt street. Red was staring at them. Were they what she was looking for? Then Zero caught on. He looked closely at the children and saw it. Each of them was sporting chains attached to their chests. Dead souls, just as he was. He knew what she was thinking now.

"Red," he said, "they're just children, leave them alone." He stepped forwards, reaching for her shoulder to stop her. He didn't want the kids to be hurt.

"Quiet down, fool," she retorted, "I'm not interested in them. You can have them later if you want."

Zero was taken aback. It appeared he had guessed wrong. Then what did she intend? The way he acted last night, he had gotten the impression that consuming souls was what creatures like them did. Indeed, as he looked at the children, it was all he could do to stop himself from jumping out and consuming them himself. When he did think about doing just that, he received a distorted image of a child covered in blood.

"Just wait," she reminded him.

He looked at her through the hollow eye sockets of his mask, still wondering. He contented himself to wait for not. The children continued to play, heedless of the people around them, and of the hollows nearby. Even they seemed not to notice them, and they were just hiding around another corner. Passing a glance to the other people, he realized that they weren't much bigger than normal humans were. Zero was only a few feet taller, possibly ten or twelve feet total, and red was only one or two. Just then, he heard a rumbling. Footsteps, big ones, much like their own, but bigger still. They suddenly stopped, and Zero looked around. There was a sudden crash down the street in front of them, kicking up dust and dirt of the road, near the children that immediately ceased to play. The dust started to clear, and a looming figure appeared. It was another hollow, much bigger than Zero was. It raised its mighty left arm and struck out at the nearest child, a boy.

Red seemed to smile and made to move, but then stopped, looking up at Zero who moved first. The hollows hand, met with Zero's own. The hollow looked surprised, not expecting to be blocked. Zero saw that it was a few feet taller than him, and it was hunched over, much like he was. Its body was yellow, mostly, with patches of red patterns covering it's front, and blue dots covering it's back. It's masked was crowned with spikes, and had bulbous red cheeks, covered by blue and red swirls. Looked kind of like candy.

"What!?" it bellowed, "Who are you, whelp!? How dare you bar me from my meal!" It pushed against Zero, obviously much stronger than him. Zero's feet slid in the dirt and sand a little. But Zero pushed back, and managed to stop him from pushing him all the way down.

"Doesn't matter who I am," Zero spat back, "you leave them alone." He glared at the hollow through those yellow and black eyes, staring only into black sockets of the other masks.

"Out of my way!" it bellowed back, obviously male.

"Zero, he's much stronger than you! Get out of there!" Red shouted from where she was.

Her warning was a bit late, as the hollows free hand was raised and slammed into zeros right side, forcing him to the right to slam into a wall. Zero shouted in pain, and moved to get up and pursue in blocking him again. The yellow hollow moved on the children again, both frozen with fear. He ignored Red close by, and just went for those two. That would prove to be a big mistake. Zero didn't even see it coming. Just then, the hollow was impaled through the back by a white spike. It cried out in pain, a low shivering hollow scream in that ghostly way. Blood spattered out the wound in front and it slumped over. It turned its head to face Red. She was on the other end of the spike. The spike was actually the end of a skeletal appendage. It had three segments and appeared to be coming from the female hollows back.

"Who… are you?" the hollow demanded weakly.

Without answering, Red pulled the spike from it's back. It fell to the ground in a heap, and it appeared to be dead. The spike retreated and lowered itself before her mouth. A long tongue slid from between the teeth of the mask wrapped around the bloodied appendage, licking it clean as she walked towards the hollow.

"Weakling," she spat, seeming almost disappointed.

The appendage raised and then folded at her back. The appendage lowered in and settled. It turned out that the white reverse teardrop shaped armor he saw on her back before was actually that claw at rest. Zero wondered what other secrets she held. She moved over to the body of the hollow and stood over it.

"This one's mine, you can have the two over there," she said.

Zero looked over at the two children, still petrified by fear. The one moved over to the little girl and both huddled together. Zero looked back at Red.

"I don't want them," he said. He then looked back at the two. "Get out of here," he said angrily. Both were happy to oblige and got up and ran away from the two remaining hollows there. Zero watched them go before looking back at Red.

"Suit yourself," she said. She then picked up the arm of the fallen hollow and bit it off at the shoulder. Zero was shocked as she began to cannibalize the hollow right there in the street. She began consuming the rest of the arm, and Zero stood there, staring.

"What are you doing?" Zero said, clearly appalled.

"What's it look like?" she replied, "eating."

"But… don't you eat human souls?" he asked, though he was somewhat afraid to touch on the subject.

"Fool," She retorted, "don't you remember? Every hollow was once a human soul. This is no different than consuming one of them."

Zero looked back down at the dead hollow. She was starting to make sense. He remembered now. He was once a human soul, too. And so was whoever this hollow used to be. This hollow was something that lost its humanity a long time ago. As if that made him feel any better about her eating it.

"One day," she said, in between bites, "you find that normal human souls don't satisfy anymore." She paused for another bite before continuing. "Hollows are much denser in spiritual energy," she explained, "so you get them, plus every soul they've consumed before."

Zero finally pried his eyes away from the disgusting display. Was this going to be his life as a hollow from now on? He didn't even want to think about it. There was no use thinking he was any better than her. As he looked at the body he felt the hunger pangs in his stomach. He knew he wouldn't last without eating. Something poked at his back, and he turned around, looking down. It was Red, and she was holding the hollows other fore arm.

"Eat something," she said, "or you'll end up like him."

Zero hesitated, and then he grudgingly accepted it. What choice did he have? He didn't want to die. Even though he was already dead.


	3. Chapter 3

One Thousand Year Story:

One Thousand Year Story:

Chapter 3

It tasted awful. That hollow may have looked like candy, but it was so bitter, and was a bit like sand in his mouth. Yet still. After the first little nibble, Zero couldn't help but devour the whole thing. It was strange. It tasted terrible, yet it was oh so satisfying. He and Red, the hollow he was traveling with, devoured the fallen hollow together. They were still in the middle of the street, with people milling about as if they weren't there. The earlier transgression with the now dead hollow and Red's killing of behind them, Zero didn't try to think of it anymore.

Once they were finished, all that was left was some blood spatters on the ground. Even those were quickly fading, turning to dust and leaving the world. Zero felt as if he could eat more, still, but the hunger pangs had subsided for now. It was incredible that he could still eat more, considering the size of the creature. And he felt so much stronger now. He raised his right arm and stared at the wrist. He could feel something. Something was writhing around inside his wrist. Just what effect did that hollow have on him.

"Why did you do it?" Red suddenly asked.

Zero looked over immediately. Her back was turned, as if ready to leave. He had almost forgotten she was there amidst their meal.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Why did you help those souls?" she repeated, clearer this time.

Zero turned away for a moment, thinking. He thought back on it a little. He didn't really know, honestly. Why did he help those two dead children's souls? He couldn't think of it now. He understood that he was supposed to consume them. That's what hollows did, apparently. The concept wasn't so bothersome, now. They probably tasted better than that hollow there.

"Because I felt like it," he replied, still not knowing.

"Don't be stupid, there has to be a reason," she retorted, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Maybe I felt bad for them," he carelessly answered.

She whirled on him, seemingly angered. "Hollows don't have feelings!" she spat, obviously annoyed.

Zero turned on her. "Why not?" he asked, letting his own temper flare.

She responded with an action that rather surprised him. She stuck her hand right through his chest. He stared down at her with his maw hanging open, shocked. He didn't even see her move. And now he was… dead? Wait… he didn't feel anything. His eyes traveled up her arm to where it was sticking out of his chest. Wasn't that where…?

"Hollows don't have feelings," she repeated, "we lost them when we lost our hearts. You didn't think that hole in your chest was meaningless, did you?"

That's right, the hole. He remembered it now. He had almost forgotten about it. His eyes traced down her arm again and to her chest. Of course not at her ample features, but at the gaping hole between them. She finally pulled her arm out of his hole and stood back a little. Zero looked into her face, covered by that white mask.

"Most hollows don't even realize it," she continued, " They don't even hesitate to consume. They see a soul they eat it. It's just reiatsu to them."

"Reiatsu?" Zero asked, intrigued.

She sighed lightly before explaining. "Spiritual energy," she said, "you get it from reishi, spirit particles, and that's what fuels your power." She sure seemed to know a lot. "You need to consume to keep your strength up. Inadvertently, the more you consume, the stronger you get. That's how it works for hollows."

Zero looked away again, off to the side, considering. Made enough sense. Why else would a spirit need to eat? He didn't remember being hungry before he became a hollow. Of course, he didn't really remember a lot of things. The rules must be different for the average soul.

"Anyways, that's besides the point," she said, still a bit flustered. "I thought that you wanted to protect them, because you wanted to eat them. But then you let them go. Why?" She sounded more urgent with the question, as if it distressed her.

Zero continued to look away, thinking. He then looked up at her again. "I don't know," he said gruffly, "I don't understand it either. Whatever reason I had, I've forgotten it, now."

She growled, obviously exasperated. "Fine, let's get out of here," she said. She then turned and started walking away. "You really are peculiar Zero," she muttered under her breath.

Zero followed silently. He considered her words carefully. He really didn't feel anything. No, he did still feel something. He could still feel anger. He could still feel rage. He could still feel regret, and longing, and sadness. All negative emotions. It would be better not to feel anything at all.

They started heading out of the city. Dusk was approaching, now. They spent a while on that hollow, it seemed. It was rather big. Zero wondered how many more hollows there were, like him and Red. And how strong were they? That hollow they ate seemed quite strong. But Red was much stronger still. He wasn't sure to what degree, but he could see that she was very strong. How many souls had she eaten? How many hollows had she consumed? Far be it from Zero to tell.

They made it to the outskirts of town. He wondered where exactly they were going. Couldn't be anywhere in particular. Hollows, it seemed, just ran around consuming. That was as much as he knew. Rampaging without a real purpose. Was she the same? Would he be the same? Didn't sound like a very friendly existence. But what could be done? He could not ignore his own needs. Neither could she.

Just then he felt something. He looked up, glancing around at the air. Something was out there. There were two things. It was only for a moment that he felt it. It was as they were approaching the forest. Was something here? He looked at Red, still getting farther ahead of him. Did she feel it too? He didn't notice her reaction, if she reacted at all. He tried to ignore it then, and just moved on, following after her. He stepped up beside her, only lagging just behind, and looked at her mask. He then felt it again, and looked straight ahead. It was closer this time. Then she stopped, and he did too. Two human sized figures stepped out of the forest. They hadn't yet reached it yet. One of them stepped out to the left, in front of the other.

"Well lookie here," he said, "two hollows ripe for the pickens."

He had dark, spiky blue hair, and wore a rather malicious grin on his face. He was garbed in black, and had a sword resting on his right shoulder, in his hand. The sheath was dark blue, like his hair. The other male stepped out beside him, similarly garbed in black. He had very short black hair, almost a moss on his head, and rather pissed off expression on his face. A katana was hanging off of his right side.

"Let's get rid of them then," the black haired one said, "they don't seem that strong. This can't be what you called me out here for."

"Trust me," the blue haired one said, "the one on the right's pathetic, but the left one's strong. I swear it. No way I could take it on my own."

"Alright fine," the black haired one said gruffly, "I'll take the left one, you take the right."

"Works for me." The blue haired one grinned even wider, switching the sword to rest on the back of his neck, grabbing the sheath with his other hand.

Zero leaned closer to Red as they spoke. 'What are they talking about?" he asked quietly, "are they going to fight us?"

"Duh," she replied bluntly, "these are shinigami."

Now that interested him. He looked back at the pair. These men garbed in black were shinigami? That's why they could see them… they were spirits themselves. Zero couldn't see a chain, but he couldn't see a hole either. Not hollows, obviously. It was a possibility until now. They seemed like normal humans, but there were big differences. For one thing… these guys seemed at least ten times more delicious than those two children from before.

"Now stay out of the way. You're not strong enough to handle them," she said, "leave them to me." She advanced on the pair, taking a step forwards. But Zero reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"No," he said, "I want to fight them."

"Do you want to die?" she retorted, not turning to him.

"I'm already dead," he answered.

He stepped forwards before she could say anything else. He approached the two and lifted his left arm. He slammed it into the ground as a form of challenge to them. They didn't hesitate, the blue haired one jumped forwards, drawing his blade from the sheath. He was fast! Zero jumped to the left just in time to avoid having his right arm severed from his body. Red didn't waist any time either. The white claw was out, and nearly skewered the blue haired shinigami, but the other one stepped in the way. There was a clash of metal and some other substance that rang out between them. The black haired shinigami blocked with the flat side of his katana. Red seemed surprised, but Zero didn't have time to look as the blue haired one charged him again.

Zero was forced to retreat again, the blue haired shinigami thrusting the sword at his chest. His inexperienced feet stumbled backwards, and he reeled as he nearly fell. Then the shinigami came in from the left, slashing at Zero horizontally from the same direction. Zero got smart this time. He stepped back just a little in order to avoid the blade and then lunged out at the blue haired one with his left hand. The hand met with cold steel, the shinigami recovering just in time block the hand. Zero winced slightly, in pain. The sword had cut into his hand a bit, as he pushed against it.

The shinigami was surprisingly strong. Not only had he held his ground, but it seemed he was pushing back against Zero's much larger size, and rather easily at that. He was surprised again. Just what were these shinigami capable of? Well, they wouldn't be worthy of the title of "death gods" if they didn't have some power. Zero quickly lashed out with his right fist, punching at the shinigami. But it hit only dirt, as the shinigami jumped backwards to avoid it.

"Heh, You're fast, hollow," he complimented, "but I gotta end this quick. So just die already!"

Zero clenched his large fists and bent slightly, ready for the shinigami to lunge at him again. But instead something rather strange happened. The blue haired man's form fuzzed out with a swish of air. Zero flinched slightly, surprised at the disappearing act. Then he realized something, and turned. Just in time, he saw the shinigami there, in the air above him. He was slashing downwards with his sword, trying to cut Zero's head off in the stroke. Zero stepped back, almost too late, and the blade collided with his mask, cutting a deep gash into it, and right into whatever flesh lay beneath it.

Blood splattered out the wound, and Zero cried out in pain. It came out as an eerie low echoing cry. Zero's right arm flailed wildly in front of him, the back of his hand finally meeting it's mark and crashing into the shinigami's side. He flew off to the right and crashed into the ground. Zero was still reeling, and his left hand clutched the wound on the right side of his head. He stumbled backwards a little more before he finally stopped, and opened his left eye to look at the shinigami. He was already getting up.

"Stronger than I thought," he said to himself, dusting off his clothes. He looked up and turned towards Zero. He was grinning with blood thirst. It was reflected in his very eyes. "Looks like I'll have to get serious," he said, raising his sword. Zero could feel his power suddenly spike. The shinigami's grin widened as the blade was suddenly surrounded by a blue aura. "Slice them into tiny bits, Kamakiri Aoi!"

The sword began to glow eerily, and then its shape began to change. It got longer in both directions, turning into a curved staff of some kind, and the top end extended out to one side, forming a prong. Once the transformation was complete, in place of the sword was a long scythe, shaded blue along the staff and on the blunt side of the blade. The connection between the staff and the blade appeared to be jointed. It was a strange weapon, but it looked quite deadly. He raised the weapon and pointed it at Zero.

"You're tougher than I thought," he said, "but now it's over. A hollow like you won't be able to stand long against this."

He raised it into the air, grabbing it with both hands. He seemed to be focusing on something. Zero tilted his head, perplexed by what he was about to do. He then bent down, stepping back. He didn't want to be caught off guard by whatever he was doing. Then it came, the shinigami violently slashed downwards with the scythe. The blade broke clean off of the handle and flew towards Zero, spinning rapidly through the air. Zero ducked, getting low to the ground, but not quite in time. The blade sliced across his left shoulder, sending a searing pain through his body. He let out another low hollow scream and fell backwards onto his bottom. That really hurt.

Meanwhile the blade hurtled through the air beyond him, then changed directions, shooting upwards and then returning to its owner. The shinigami raised the staff and blade connected neatly back onto it. He grimaced, showing his teeth in a rather angered look.

"Would you stay still and die already!?" he demanded.

He then raised the staff and swung it again, horizontally this time. The blade detached and hurtled towards Zero again, as a flat disc. By this time Zero had managed to scramble to his feet. He jumped to the left side, but not in time. The blade seared across his right side, cutting his flesh again. Zero fell to the ground in a heap. He was breathing hard now, and barely able to move. He raised a shakey right hand and planted it into the ground in front of him. He tried to push himself up, but to no avail. He suddenly hacked, coughing up blood through the teeth of his hollow mask, and collapsed back onto the ground.

The blade once more returned to its staff, and the shinigami walked over to him, slowly. His clearly un amused expression soon twisted into a wide grin. Zero moved his head to see him, walking towards the grounded hollow. He raised the sythe and rested its sky blue shaft on his shoulder.

"You've been a real pain," he said. He raised the blade into the air in one hand, his right, and made ready to swing down at him. "Been fun!" he said.

He then swung the blade down, aiming to hue Zero's head off once and for all. But just before the blow was finished, Zero summoned the last of his strength and shoved outwards with his right hand. The back of his large hand impacted the shinigami's chest, deflecting his strike and knocking him back. He grunted, balking at being foiled again. Zero hastily got to his feet and advanced on the blue haired shinigami, already on his feet. He raised the scythe to defend himself. Zero stuck out his palm as if to attack him, then a black cord suddenly burst forwards from his wrist. The shinigami was just as surprised as Zero. The white tipped cord wrapped around the shinigami and bound him tight. There was no time for thinking. Zero pulled back on it, and lifted him into the air. He swung him around once, twice, and then the black clothed body impacted a tree, hard.

The shinigami cried out in pain, and it was his turn to cough up blood. The thick black cord unwrapped itself from his body and he collapsed on the ground in a heap. The cord retracted and slid back into Zero's wrist, hidden away. Zero looked at his arm for a moment, then back at the shinigami. He had gotten up to his hands and knees, and raised his head to look at Zero, breathing almost as heavy.

"Enough of this," he said, "We gotta get out of here." He looked over to where Red and the other shinigami were supposed to be fighting. "Hey-" he broke off, his eyes widening.

Zero risked a glance in that direction. There he could see Red, and the other shinigami. Both of those three sectioned bone like appendages were out, and resting point down on the ground in front of her. Her tail swished eagerly, and from what little emotion he could tell from her demeanor, she seemed to be enjoying it. The shinigami, however, was in a sorry state. He was part way kneeling, his sword weakly raised. The expression on his face was adamant, and unwavering, but his breath was haggard, and he looked as if he was about to collapse. Red didn't seem damaged at all.

A long tongue snaked over those white teeth as a short, malicious giggle escaped between them, echoing through. "What's wrong, shinigami? I thought you were stronger than that," she said. She then cackled hollowly, raising her head into the air.

"What a monster… I can't even scratch it…" the shinigami breathed. The blue haired shinigami appeared next to the black haired one, placing a hand on his shoulder, and looking up at the hollow before them, wary of it.

"Let's get out of here," he said. The black haired one only nodded, and with a final glare, the shinigami disappeared again. Zero wondered just how they moved so fast. He still felt their spiritual energy for a time, but then they were gone.

Zero took in a deep breath, and then finally allowed himself to collapse. Red looked over at him, the prongs retracting and sliding back into her back. She walked over to him, her footsteps heard heavy on the ground. She looked down at him, and then kicked him, turning him over onto his front. Zero grunted in pain, but was unable to move.

"Hrm. Got you pretty good, didn't he… I told you not to fight," she scolded. Zero just looked up at her yellow beads, answering only with a glare from his own. "Fine," she said, "I took enough energy from him to do this much."

She placed her hand on his shoulder wound, gripping hard. Zero winced and made to grab her arm, but was in too much pain, and only managed to twitch. He could feel heat come from the hand. It seared into the wound, but it was beyond Zero to complain. Soon, he got used to it, then, it only served to numb the pain. He felt as if the wound was closing. What was she doing to him? He didn't understand. He was starting to feel sleepy. So much had happened today already.

"Just rest now," she said, "I'll fix you up."

It didn't sound very sincere, but what choice did he have. His vision faded, and then finally, everything was black. He heard his own breathing for a few moments more and then there was nothing. He fell into unconsciousness.

"Idiot…" she breathed, half sighing.


	4. Chapter 4

One Thousand Year Story:

One Thousand Year Story:

Chapter 4

His head swam through the darkness. He couldn't feel his body, just a sickly feeling in his brain. He breathed in, feeling cool air enter whatever this bodies excuse for lungs were. He tried to open his eyes. There was only more darkness, but that slowly began to clear. He saw a face. A grinning wicked face. Someone was standing over him.

"Red?" he asked, his voice coming out in a distorted and echoing tone.

"Hrm," she grunted, "bout' time you woke up." Her tone was rather aggravated.

He groaned and tried to get up, only to receive a short punch to his gut. His head fell back to the ground with a thud. That got the blood flowing. If that is what it was. That's right, he was still a monster. He looked down at his form, lifting his head slightly again. Large dark body, a few red streaks here and there, oversized hands that the feeling just returned to. He tilted his head back up to look at Red again, the strangely feminine but equally monstrous person he found himself traveling with.

"Don't try to move too much," she said, "your wounds are healed, but that doesn't matter to exhaustion."

He only groaned again. He felt it now. His body was unwilling to move, not because it was hurt, but because he was tired. "What did you do to me?" he asked.

"I healed you, it's one of my abilities," she explained. She held up one of her white-clawed hands and pointed to it with her other. "I take my enemy's reiatsu and use it to heal my own wounds. I just transferred some of that to you." She then placed her hands back down on the rock that he just realized she was sitting on.

He looked around at his surroundings. They were still in the forest. Just in a different part it seemed. She must have moved him from that battle with those shinigami. That was probably a good idea. He wondered how many more of those guys were there. And were they all as strong as that? Or were there some even stronger? A scary thought.

They waited a couple hours, not talking too much. Zero was soon able to sit up, and thankfully didn't receive a punch or a kick to keep him down this time. Then it was starting to get to him again. He felt hungry. How could he forget it? It was coming back to him now. The constant insatiable hunger pangs that was a part of his new being. He placed a hand on his stomach, looking off into the trees.

"I'm… hungry," he said.

"Ho ho," she laughed, "I knew you would be. Come on then." She got up and reached down, grabbing him by the arm. She forced him to his feet. "I'm going to show you where we hollows go to rest."

Zero only stared at her, wondering just what she was thinking about. _"Where hollows go to rest?" _ he thought. Then suddenly he was dragged into darkness once again. He felt the ground give way beneath him, which gave him quite a jolt. He looked down to his feet and saw nothing below him. There was only more blackness. He looked up at Red, who was hanging onto his arm and keeping him from falling into the Abyss. All around them there was nothing but darkness. How could she stand.

"Watch your step," she said in an almost gleeful tone, and all too late at that. She hoisted him up by the arm. "Come on, don't you feel it? That Reishi in the air?" she asked.

Zero would have raised an eyebrow at her, if he had such things anymore. "_Reishi… spirit particles?_" he thought. Now that she had mentioned it, yes, he did. He could feel them all around this place. Limitless little particles of spirit energy, though he wouldn't have been able to identify it himself. He had never felt such things before.

"You can control them, to some extent. Now make a platform before I drop you," she ordered.

That was not very encouraging. Zero looked back at his feet. He concentrated on them, trying to form what she said. But nothing happened. Then he realized he should be concentrating on the particles, not his feet. He focused on them and it came easier than he thought it would. A small ghostly blue disc appeared around his feet. It was rough around the edges, and it didn't look very strong. So it didn't help when Red suddenly let go of his arm. He dropped hard on to the disk and it shook, loosing a few particles in the form of a light dust, but it held. He looked back up at her, clearly not amused.

She only laughed. "Now create a path," she continued, doing just that, "we'll get there soon." She walked along her own self-made path, heading somewhere. She seemed to know where she was going.

Zero looked down at his feet again. He extended the path a little ways out in front of him and then took cautious steps forward. It seemed to come naturally to him. She did say they were going to the place where hollows go to rest. It could be a natural thing to know how to do this. Yet it still seemed so strange to him. So he walked forwards, following her through the endless abyss. Just as the darkness began to get a bit creepier, they had reached the end. He heard a zipping sound and looked up to see light ahead. He saw Red walk out, and he followed.

He found himself then in a desert. He looked around, seeing only endless sand with a few trees scattered here and there. Looking up into the sky, he could see the moon. Something was different about it. They were in another world now, weren't they? He squinted slightly at it, and then realized the difference. The lunar phase was different. It was opposite in fact. The air was heavy. He breathed it in eagerly. It somehow made him feel stronger.

"Welcome to the big empty," she said. She walked forwards into the sands. Zero followed closely behind.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"Can't say for sure," she replied, "Hueco Mundo is as mysterious as the hollows themselves. No one knows how it was made, but the theory is that it's just a big space where Reishi just began to collect over time. That being a hollow's main food source just made it the perfect place for them to collect."

Zero passed another glance out to the desert. He looked back at her, still walking away. "I don't see any hollows here," he said.

She suddenly stopped and held her hand up in a signal for him to stop. He did so, and she turned around to face him. She held one finger up to the teeth of her mask in a 'be quiet' gesture. Zero, confused, didn't have anything to say, so he humoured her. Then he heard something. It was near, yet far. A hollows cry echoed out in the night sands. But it was not from over the sands. She pointed down, and Zero looked in the same direction.

"They hide beneath the sands," she said, "many hollows do. Others don't. I do. Frankly, I don't like the moon." She glanced up at the orb in the sky.

That was more confusing, but the rest was explained. Zero glanced back down at the sands beneath their feet. There could be hundreds of hollows just beneath the surface, there. He looked back up at her, seeing her watch the moon. She just stared at it. Why did she not like the moon? She then snapped out of her daze and looked at him, almost glaring.

"Just follow me," she said, "you'll be safer that way."

That raised another question. It was a recurring question in his mind. Why did she care so much? Why did she care at all? What use did she have for a weakling like him? He could admit that he wasn't very strong. There was no question that she was the stronger one here.

She walked on, and he followed. The desert stretched on, and they traveled in silence. This place was very bleak. The small trees that he saw, he soon found, were nothing but crystals, growing out of the ground and not trees at all. Did nothing live here? The sand started to thin out as they traveled. Zero could feel it change beneath their feet. Soon they came to a rocky place, and there in front of them was the gaping maw of a cave. Not bothering to stop and explain she just proceeded into the cave, and Zero followed after her. The cave went down. It just became darker and darker as they left the light of the moon.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked.

"I want you to meet someone," she replied.

"Who?" he asked.

"You will see him soon enough," she explained, "He is the oldest one in our little community."

"A community of hollows?" Zero replied, somewhat perplexed, "from what happened to that hollow back on earth, I got the impression that hollows didn't like each other very much."

"I've let you stick around, haven't I?" she said, "Most hollows don't have anything against each other. Hollows only fight for two things. Food and territory. Those with more intelligence than others will sometimes band together to form a colony. It's safer that way."

Zero got the point. So obviously hollows weren't completely barbaric. Beasts could form colonies too, however, so it wasn't that far fetched. It was the seeming habit of consuming each other that concerned Zero a bit, but he decided to leave that question for later. They soon came to a larger chamber. It was still dark, but up above there were holes in the ceiling that allowed the pale moonlight to shine down on them. There were several offshoot caves. Zero only saw one or two in the open, but the rest he could sense hidden just beneath a layer of darkness. Zero could smell that they were there. Red did not stop in this chamber and strode across to the far end. She entered a rather large offshoot of the bigger cavern, where it quickly turned dark again.

After walking a little further, there was light again. They walked into another large chamber. It was much smaller than the one before, but still large enough for a much bigger creature to fit inside. In the cave ceiling above there was another small opening, showing the moon through it. There before them, sitting on a gigantic stone throne was its inhabitant. Zero stared into the face of an enormous hollow. It was as tall as two houses stacked one on top of the other. Its mask was heavily lined, giving off the feeling of age. It extended over it's skull and had six upward curving horns, three on either side. A pare of aged golden yellow eyes appeared in the previously empty sockets, staring down at the two.

"Red," it greeted. Its voice was distorted almost beyond comprehension, but it was strong and boomed throughout the cave, "I did not think you would be returning here. I have not seen you since you left …" He paused a moment, taking a long ragged breath. "… For that blasted competition," he finished.

"I did what I had to, old bones," she retorted.

"And why do you bring back outsiders," he said, virtually ignoring her response. He pointed a long and gnarled finger at Zero. Red looked at him, then back at the old hollow.

"I found him in the real world," she explained, "I found him interesting so I brought him back."

"Still acting on your own petty whims, I see," he said, lowering his hand.

The huge hollow leaned forwards and without warning he seized Zero with his huge hand. Zero was caught off guard and couldn't do anything about it. He was shocked to find himself within the huge hollow's grip and looked up at him. He struggled a little, but couldn't free himself from it. The old hollow brought him close to his face, examining him closely. Zero got the distinct feeling he was about to be eaten as he was looked over with scrutiny.

Then, the huge hollow set him back down. He didn't eat Zero, he didn't even nibble on him. Zero blinked a little with his eyes so far behind that mask, surprised. Despite a bit of rough handling, he was unharmed. He looked up at the monstrous hollow, and it looked back down at him.

"Seems pretty ordinary to me," the aged hollow said, "I don't get what you see in this weakling, but I'll let him stay."

"Stay?" Zero said, surprised.

"Yes, stay. Here, with us," the elder hollow replied. It leaned in a bit closer. "That's what you came for, isn't it?" he asked.

"I never asked to stay," Zero retorted.

"Then what are you doing here at all!?" the old hollow boomed.

"Please, calm down," Red said, finally stepping in. She turned to Zero and spoke to him quietly. "It's better that you stay here, Zero," she said, "It's much safer than it is, trust me." Zero looked at her quizzically. Then he just nodded, agreeing. She looked back at the old hollow. "He would like to stay," she said.

"Very well. Go find your places. Now away with you," he said. He waved a huge hand, motioning for them to leave.

They made their way back through the large entryway to the room and into the main chamber. Zero found himself practically crawling on all fours, his knuckles supporting his heavier top. He moved as if he were a gorilla, and in this place, he kind of felt like one. He could feel it all around him. It was brimming with energy. It was primal and fierce. It infected his body. He could feel it changing him even more. He decided not to mention it. He figured he wouldn't get much of an answer. He looked around the chamber. It was still dark. He could hear the cracked voices of other hollows in the shadows. It was rather frightening.

"This place really creeps me out," he admitted to Red, beside him.

"Get used to it. It's home now," she replied.


	5. Chapter 5

One Thousand Year Story:

Chapter 5

Zero looked down into the sands. This was his home now? He stopped for a moment. He lifted his enormous hand and looked at it. It hadn't really sunk in before, but what Red had said to him made it stick. Did he really have to get used to this form? Stuck as a beast, doomed to wander in this wasteland for the rest of eternity? He slowly clenched his giant hand, tensing the muscles in his arm. His fist shook as the emotion of rage boiled in the empty socket where his heart once lay. His soul began to burn so hot that the hole in his chest began to sear with heat. He hated it. He hated this place.

"Zero!"

He nearly jumped, feeling something clap his shoulder. He looked up to the source of the voice and saw that it was Red. Her hand was on his shoulder. Roused from his thoughts, the searing heat in his chest subsided. He let his fist fall back down into the sand, using it to support his top-heavy weight.

"Come on," she said, urging him to move with a small, rough, push with her hand.

Zero continued forwards as ordered. He nearly slipped back into his own thoughts when he heard slithering and moving. It was like the noises he heard in the shadows and outlets of the cavern, but louder, and much closer. He looked up again, and realized that the hollows that were hiding away were gathering around them. They had already been surrounded. Hollows of many different shapes and sizes. Each of them was unique in it's own way. Most were bound to the ground, one two, four, and six, even upwards of ten legs, and others with no legs. There were even ones that hovered eerily in the air above the others. It was a creepy array of white masks and empty stares. Zero cringed. He had that same feeling, like when he was being gripped by that huge elder hollow, like he was about to die.

"Well, well… look what the bat dragged in," Echoed a voice from the crowd.

Zero immediately searched for the source of the voice. Soon, his eyes landed on a hollow slithering out from the crowd. It had four arms, and no legs. It had a long snake tail and dragged itself through the sands with its arms. It had a fiery red mane, a taunting expression on its mask, and four small horns protruding from its forehead. From what he could tell, the voice was male. It looked straight at Red, who looked back at him. The new hollow moved around them, circling them. At first it just watched Red, then it looked at Zero. It examined him, and a long tongue slipped out beneath the teeth, licking at them.

"It looks tasty… I want him!" it said.

"No chance," Red retorted, her tone dull and bored.

"Oh come on, you can share can't you?" he asked, in a clearly taunting voice.

"I'm not going to eat him," she replied flatly.

"Huh? Then why won't you let me have him?" he replied, this time in a whining voice.

"Tch. When the hell did you get a taste for hollows anyways, _Quadworm_?"

"Don't spit that shinigami tripe at me!" he spat, "You will call me Firemane, or I'll rip your throat out!"

Quadworm must be the name that the shinigami gave him. Zero had to agree that it was a pretty dull name, although he found it at least a little more creative than Zero. This Quadworm had then given himself the name Firemane in place of it. His name was obviously a touchy topic with him, and Red had obviously used it to aggravate him.

"Say what you want," she said, looking away from the four-armed snake hollow, "You know you can't beat me. I doubt you could even beat Zero here." She glanced at Zero, and Zero glanced back.

Zero scolded her with a glare, telling her to keep him out of this. He wanted no part in her squabble with this other hollow. All he wanted was out of this ring of white masks and into a nice dark place where he could rest. He didn't care how, he just wanted out. He looked back towards the aggravated hollow, and found him right in front of him, mask to mask. Zero instinctively stepped back, retreating from the other hollow.

"HA!" Quadworm shouted, "You think this pathetic bastard can beat me? I can smell him. He can't be three days old!"

"In an instant, worm," Red said, still not looking at him.

Quadworm looked at her. In a surprisingly fast motion, he moved around in front of her, getting into her face. Zero watched, curiously, though still suspicious of what Red was up to. Really, what was she thinking? Zero didn't want to fight. He didn't need to prove anything. Quadworm glared into the eyes of Red. Their contempt for each other was obvious, but Red still looked like she didn't care. Even under the shadowed eye sockets of the mask, Zero could feel the hatred exuding from those eyes.

"Fine!" he shouted, lifting himself up on his enormous tail. It made him easily taller than both Red and Zero. He looked down at Red. "I'll challenge him for dominance!" he announced.

Zero looked at him. He had a dreading feeling that Red just put him in danger, and did it completely on purpose. He glanced around at the crowd of hollows. That had remained pretty quiet while Firemane was speaking, but now they were muttering and whispering among each other. This was obviously important somehow. From what he could tell, that huge elder hollow was the leader, but he was also old and lethargic. The other hollows might have established their own hierarchy by who was the strongest, in the absence of the elder. That seemed to be this Firemane hollow.

Zero shook his head. This wasn't right. Red had just completely set him up for this battle, on purpose, and he wasn't going to simply stand for it. He looked up at this Firemane, a dull and clearly not amused look behind the dark sockets of his mask.

"Hold on a minute, don't I get a say in this?" Zero asked.

The instant he spoke, almost every hollow's eyes were on him. He still found it creepy, but he bore with it to defend himself. Firemane tilted his head at Zero, looking at him. He slowly coiled down his body, lowering himself a bit to rest. It clearly took effort to stand so tall on a tail. He crossed all his arms, looking at Zero with some scrutiny.

"What? You don't want to fight?" Firemane asked.

"Not really," Zero replied.

"What are you doing?" said Red, coming up beside him.

Zero looked at her. She was the one who got him into this and she was asking what he was doing? Something about that didn't seem right. He didn't come here to fight anyone. Besides which, he still felt so hungry. Wouldn't it have been better to wait and get some food before getting into a confrontation?

"If you don't fight him now, he'll walk all over you for the rest of your stay here," she said harshly, in a half whisper.

"I don't even know him," Zero replied, "I don't have any beef with him."

"He'll push you around just because he feels like it. Do you want to spend the rest of eternity bowing to that worm, or just go through one easy battle and never be messed with again?" she said.

"Hey, hello, I'm over here," Firemane chimed in.

They ignored him. Zero glared at her. Did she really think this would be so easy for him? He was new to being a hollow after all, and this Firemane character must have been around for longer than Zero. There was no doubt about that. All Zero wanted was food and a place to sleep. Was that so much to ask for?

"Hey!" Firemane shouted, trying to gain their attention again.

"Trust me. Just get in there!" urged Red.

Then, without so much as a warning, she pushed him forwards. Zero stumbled and nearly fell over in the sand. He steadied himself on his large hands and looked up at Firemane, who was already advancing towards him. Zero stood taller and readied himself for a fight.

"The challenge is accepted!" Firemane announced.

All the hollows started howling and cheering in a shuddering chorus that would send chills through the most hardened of warriors. Zero was no hardened warrior, and he shuddered at the sound. It seemed he had no choice but to do battle. Firemane wasn't taking no for an answer. Zero looked up at him, realizing he was slithering quickly towards him. He backed up only to feel many hands on his back that pushed him back forwards. He heard the horrible noise of hollows cackling and laughing at him for his cowardice. Zero was tempted to look back at them, but his attention was forced back to Firemane when he was nearly clubbed in the face by one of the four fists. He moved his head back just enough to only feel the wind made in the wake of the strike.

Zero quickly moved around Firemane and around the circle of hollows to a better distance. The hollows laughter doubled, and Firemane cackled with them. The snake hollow began to slither towards him again. Zero worked up his nerves and instead of running away again, he took a swing at the snake with his huge right arm. But the long and manoeuvrable body of his opponent easily moved to the side. Zero felt a fist smack into the right side of his mask. He stumbled backwards, stunned by the blow. It took him for a bit of a loop, but he could hear the laugher of the hollows double again.

He gritted his teeth and let out a low shuddering growl. It was an extremely bestial noise and one of the first to escape between the white teeth of his mask. A few of the hollows that had heard quieted down a bit, but most of them just continued laughing at him, Firemane included. Zero charged at him this time, trundling over the sands like a charging ape. The snake hollow noticed this charge.

"Ha! Too easy," he laughed.

He bent low, and then the giant snake tail flew out from behind him. It was aimed dead at Zero's chest, to knock him down before he even got close. But Zero would not have it and he stepped around the tail. He raised his heavy fist again and struck for the snake's head. It was narrowly stopped by Firemane's hand, blocking just in time. Firemane's other hand, on the same side, rose up and gripped Zero's wrist. He was gripping rather tightly, and Zero could feel a pain in his wrist as the snake attempted to push his fist back. He was pushing the fist up while pulling the wrist down, using both hands. Zero lifted his fingers just enough to reveal his wrist entirely to the snake. Then he would see something white poke out from it. That was the one signal he had before a white tipped, black cord shot from Zero's wrist.

Firemane dipped his head to his left, narrowly avoiding being pierced through the forehead. He then punched Zero's chest with his two free arms on his right side. His right arm released, Zero stumbled back. The double impact knocked the wind out of him a little, but he quickly recovered. All of the hollow laughter had ceased at that point. All of the eyes were once again on Zero. Firemane was already recoiling for another attack. He raised his right arms again and punched at Zero. The cord from Zero's right arm moved. He lifted his arm and the cord slipped around Firemane's arms. The cord pulled and bound them together. Zero took a firm grip on the cord in his right hand and pulled downwards.

Firemane stumbled, however a snake could stumble, and slipped closer to the ground. He looked up at Zero, and Zero had already raised his left fist. He clubbed the snake across the mask, letting out a fierce and shuddering roar. The snake slowly looked up again, only to be smashed again. Zero clubbed him again, once more for good measure, and then he finally slipped loose of the cord around his arms. Firemane backed off and slowly recovered, bringing himself back to full height. He growled, rubbing the side of his face that Zero had punched three times.

"You bastard!" he shouted in full out rage, "How dare you scratch my face!"

He then lifted his hand away from the spot on the mask, revealing a large crack in it. He roared at Zero, a fierce yell more bestial than his. He almost appeared to be growing in size as he lifted himself up even further. He flexed his four arms, and white points started to grow from each of his hands. Then the points suddenly burst out into large claws. Four more points grew from his elbows and burst into more claws, extending backwards. Even more grew along his spine and were soon revealed. Even his mane seamed to grow in size. The hollows watching them backed away as if afraid for their lives.

"I'm going to show you _real_ pain!" he shouted.

The now monstrous snake dove at Zero, pointing all of the new claws protruding out of his hands towards him. He was going to pierce him in four places if Zero did not move. He turned to the right and jumped out of the way. The four blades crashed into the ground where he was, kicking up innumerable bits of sand and creating a small cloud. It wasn't long before Firemane reoriented and struck at Zero again with a fierce shout. Zero dodged again the same way, ending up beside the large tail of the snake. He noticed this and grabbed for it, but so did its owner. The tail lifted up before he could grab it. Zero dodged to the side again just as the tail slammed down on the sand where he was.

Zero was moving faster than before. Was it all his instinct? He just knew he had to move. If he didn't, he would die. That was all there was to it. But just running around wouldn't solve anything. Firemane would catch him eventually. The snake was already turning towards him again. Zero ran to his right, staying just out of his enemies' attack range. Frustrated, Firemane growled and quickly turned the other way, hoping to catch Zero on the other side. Zero took that opportunity and jumped at Firemane's back. Firemane raised his arm to block and Zero bit down on it, hard. If he didn't react in time, it would have been his shoulder, and maybe his neck instead.

"AAAUUGH! You bastard!" the snake hollow screamed, "Get off me you trash!"

His powerful tail slid out from Firemane's right, whipped around and slammed Zero hard across the chest. He was forced to let go and was thrown off. He fell hard on his back in the sand, winded for a moment. Zero got up, and Firemane was already charging again. Zero bent down, getting ready for the attack. He only had a couple seconds before the beast was upon him. He had raised all four arms to strike again. That was the moment he struck back. Zero leapt into Firemane's chest, tackling him head on. Firemane reeled, falling backwards. Zero took that opportunity and bit down on the snake's neck on the right side.

"GAAAAAAAAH!" the hollow screamed, clearly in pain.

Zero bit hard and ripped at the flesh. He was like a ravenous animal, attacking without the slightest hint of mercy. But his victim was not defenceless. Zero felt something pierce his left side, and he let go crying out in pain. Firemane's claw, on his lower left arm, had pierced Zero through his side. Firemane raised the claw, with Zero skewered on it, and threw him off to the side.

Zero fell to the ground in a heap. Firemane thrashed around in pain, shouting and swearing. Zero did not move as much. He could feel the pain all through his body. That was the only way he knew that he was still there. He shifted and clutched at the wound. It hurt even more than when he fought that shinigami. He closed his eyes tight, wincing from the pain. His head started to swim. He opened his eyes and looked around. His eyes landed on someone in the crows of hollows. It was Red.

"Get up, Zero," she commanded harshly, "Fight's not over yet."

Zero felt a new burst of anger run through him. This was her fault to begin with. He gritted his teeth and the teeth of his mask. He forced himself to sit up and slowly turn around. He eventually made it to his feet, and saw Firemane getting up as well. He was clutching at the wound Zero made in his neck. It had weakened him considerably. With his head still spinning, Zero's eyes shifted in and out of focus a few times before correcting themselves. Even then the immage of the large snake like hollow was blurry.

Damn that woman! Damn her to hell! She had thrust him into an unwinnable battle. Firemane still had more strength than Zero, even though he had managed to wound him in such a vulnerable place. The giant snake was readying his "fangs", the numerous claws that had sprouted from his arms, aiming to charge at the smaller Zero once again. He didn't know if he could take much more of this. But his options now were fight or die, and his every instinct told him to fight.

Firemanes powerful tail thrusted him forwards, shifting the sands beneath it as the body swayed from side to side. He was propelled forwards at great speeds, giving Zero not much time to react. The moment he was close enough, Firemane thrusted the spike on his top right hand down towards Zero's chest. His reflexes were still good enough to duck the attack, leaving the fang to pass over his shoulder, but he almost didn't catch the two lower arms thrusting their fangs for his lower stomach. Zero managed to catch the two spikes in his hands, but without enough traction he easilly slid backwards through the sands. And it was likely a good thing, as Zero felt his hands slip along the fangs slightly, slicked by something wet.

Firemane had one more claw and thrusted it for Zero's other shoulder. Zero managed to duck beneath it and released the snakes two lower fangs to break off the attack. Firemane recoiled and backed up a little. His longue forked tongue slipped out from between the teeth of the mask, liking them a little. He seemed almost gleeful. Zero slumped a little, but managed to keep standing. He was glad for the moment to catch his breath, even though it was unlikely to last long. But the muscles in his arms seized up for a moment as he felt a slight shooting pain in his hands. He raised them up to look at them and though his vision was still bleary he could see that they were covered in a purple black liquid. He raised his eyes to look at his enemy, and saw that each of his claws were coated with the same substance. Poison! This hollow was more like a snake than he anticipated.

He would just have to fight through the pain. It became more important than ever to avoid those claws. He was losing enough focus through bloodloss, but this poison was already affecting his mind, and he had only touched it. If it actually got into his body, who knows what it might do. He had to end it, and fast, before he lost complete focus. He was going to kill that woman Red, if it was the last thing he did before he died.

Firemane wasted little more time as he charged again, this time raising his left hand to attack first. Zero wasn't about to let the same thing happen twice. The same black, white tipped cord he used before burst from his hand, he raised his hand towards the snake hollow and the cord launched forwards. Firemane tried to stop himself, raising his body to retreat from the advancing cord, but too late! The cord wrapped around the hollows neck. Zero pulled with both hands to force the hollow down. The sand flew up in a cloud, Firemane's arms impacted it first to stabalize himself.

"Graaarghrrrrrr," Firemane's shout, more of surprise than pain, quickly descended into an angry growl.

He tried to get up but Zero didn't give him the chance. He took one, two steps then jumped. He landed on the larger hollows shoulders and turned to face the back of his neck. He held out his other hand towards it and yet another black cord shot from the wrist. It too quickly wrapped and bound itself around Firemanes neck. The snake hollow shouted again and tried to raise itself up and try and throw Zero off. He steadied himself, holding onto the cords for dear life. He gripped a little tighter still, and giving out a mighty roar, Zero yanked back on the cords.

A loud choking, hacking noise emenated from Firemane's throat as the cords were pulled tight around his neck. The giant snake body descended closer to the ground, but he once again caught himself, by the spikes on his handsl, refusing to go down. Zero yanked again, and another loud choking noise echoed through the chamber. All other hollows had gone silent as they watched in awe as one of the strongest of them was choking to death. Zero gave yet another mighty pull on the cords. Firemane choked again, and fell further to the ground, stabalizing himself on his elbows and forearms. He had lost control. He was determined to kill him. He wasn't going to stop.

But something did managed to get in his way. A white blur shot accross his vision, and whatever it was severed the cords attached to Zero's wrists. Tension suddenly lost, he fell backwards. His back first hit one of the spikes on Firemane's back, causing him to fall to the side and into the sands. With cords' grip around Firemane's neck relaxed, and he collapsed into the sands as well.

Zero looked up, bleary eyed. The rage began to fade, but his vision would clear only slightly. A figure stood above him, smaller than the snake, getting closer. Once it was close enough to his face, he found himself staring into the mask of Red. "You..." He rasped, his voice giving off a rattling echo, "Why did you stop me?"

"Old bone's forbade hollows from killing eachother in this place... I had to stop you," she explained.

Zero summoned what remained of his strength and lifted himself up, pushing Red out of his way. "I never... Wanted to fight... Your battle," he rasped. He slowly, but surely, got to his feet. He began turned and through his bleary vision he tried to find the way he came in to this place. Through uneasy steps, on his hands and feet, he moved around the giant snake. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, he nearly dragged himself towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" she asked, following him, "You beat him, you can stay here."

"I don't belong here," he replied.

He continued on through the crowd of hollows that parted way before him. He made his way closer to the exit, as his vision began to fade randomly in and out. It went from somewhat blurry, to completely blurry. Yet he still tried to drag himself on, between that, his wounds, and the poison in his veins. The pain was excruciating, but he just wanted out.

"You can't go out there!" Red pleaded. But his hearing seemed to fade as well.

Finally, and collapsed at the round exit to the enourmous chamber, unable to make it up the slope to what little light there was above. Before he faded completely from conciousness, Zero whispered something almost inaudiable, in a low rasp.

"You... Insufferable Woman..."


End file.
